Torpedo hull



Patented Oct. 7, 1952 TORPEDO HULL! LewisJ ones, deceased, late ofIUpweyWeymouth,

England, by William Thomas W ilkinson, executor, Wimbledon, England;assignor to Vickers- Armstrongs Limited, London; England, a company ofGreat Britain Application April 26, 1947, Serial No. 744,261

In Great Britain November 25, 1942 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8,1946 Patent expires November 25, 1962 1 Claim. 1

The method of constructing a torpedo main hull in accordance with theinvention consists in producing a number of metal stampings or pressingsof circular cross sectional shape, each pressing having an integrallyformed inwardly directed stiffening flange, the pressings being of suchdimensions that they can be assembled together in overlapping end to endrelationship, assembling the various pressings together and securingthem together by means of a welding process.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect the same will now be more fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure lis a sectional view of one of the stampings or pressings.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the pressing after it has been machined.

Figure 3 is a sectional view illustrating the method of assembly on aremovable assembly jig.

Each section I employed in the construction of the main hull is pressedfrom sheet metal, the various sections being in the form of cylindricalor conical pressings each initially formed at one end with a peripheralflange 2, the opposite end being left solid, each section thereforebeing of substantially cup shape and having an outwardly directed flangeor lip. The closed end of the pressing which is to enter the open end ofthe next adjacent section is slightly reduced in diameter as at 3 sothat the outer surfaces of adjacent sections will lie flush when thesections are united together.

The section which has been initially formed with a flange at one end andclosed at the opposite end is then machined, and assumes the form shownin Figure 2, the flange being removed and the part 3 of reduced diametermachined back to the correct diameter for mating with the adjacentsection, the solid end 4 being then trepanned out as at 5 to a diameterwhich will leave an inwardly directed lip or flange 6 of a suflicientwidth to ensure adequate stiffness of the section.

The prepared sections are then erected on an assembly fixture of jig Iwhich ensures concentric alignment of the sections, the sections beingassembled together with their ends in overlapping relationship andtackedtogether by wide spaced spot welding. The assembly fixtures is thenremoved and each joint seam welded by suitable means preferablyautomatic at a suitable position between the mating ends of adjoiningsections. This seam welding, in addition to rigidly securing thesections together, also forms a watertight seal between the outside andthe inside of the hull.

To produce a flush continuity of hull contour and prevent seepage ofwater or moisture between the mating joint surfaces, which would resultin corrosion, the depression 8 between the extreme edge of each sectionand the adjacent section is filled flush with the hull contour and theseam between the sections caulked with a synthetic rubber or otherplastic or hard filling substance.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the hullsections are completely machine made and therefore suitable for massproduction methods whilst the thickness of the different section can bevaried to suit, soas to get uniform strength throughout the length ofthe hull. Furthermore each section incorporates its own radial stiffenerwhilst assembly and welding of the various sections together areoperations likewise suitable for mass production methods.

What is claimed is:

A method of constructing a, torpedo main. hull of circularcross-section, consisting in pressing or stamping a plurality of sheetmetal cup-like bodies each flanged outwardly at the rim of its open endand deformed at its periphery at its other end into a relatively shallowaxial plug part merging into the closed base end of the body and adaptedto nest snugly in the open end of an adjacent one of said bodies,removing said rim flange and machining back said plug part for matingwith the adjacent body, removing a concentric part of the base of eachcup-like body so as to leave an inwardly turned stiffening flange,assembling in co-axial relationship th said sheet metal stampings orpressings, mating the plug end parts into the other end parts of thepressings or stampings to produce a tubular hull structure uninterruptedfrom end-to-end, and thereupon welding the mating parts together to forma selfsustaining unitary tubular shell.

' WILLIAM THOMAS WILKINSON.

Executor of the Last Will and Testament of Lewis Jones, Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES (Copy in Div. 14.)

Number Name Date 122,656 Rogers Jan. 9, 1872 I 800,408 Sharp Sept. 26,1905 2 1,281,967 Irwin Oct. 15, 1918 1,318,956 Barlow Oct. 14, 19191,627,155 Dieter May 3; 1927 1,812,010 McBride June 30, 1931' Die Designand Diemaking Practice, published by the Industrial Press, firstedition, pp. 685-686.,

